Deck 14: Labor Relations in Multinational Corporations and in Other Countries

Question 1

American jobs have been lost in major industries,such as the automobile,steel,textile,footwear,and consumer electronics,whereas jobs in the aircraft,computers,entertainment,and finance industries have increased.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Unions in Cuba represent a broad array of constituents including current workers,retired pensioners,and even the unemployed.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A number of large MNCs are so enormous that their sales are frequently larger than the entire economy of the countries in which they conduct business.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Collective bargaining in South America is far more common and unions are more sophisticated than in the United States.

Question 5

Union density in most of Western Europe is significantly greater than in the United States.

Question 6

In Australia,the Workplace Relations Act of 1996 (WRA)introduced individual contracts called Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs)which enhanced ''choice'' by placing individual and collective agreements on an equal footing.

Question 7

Unions and corporations in the United States have a substantial influence on labor relations in Canada.

Question 8

Organized labor in the United States is generally supportive of MNCs because they believe that MNCs improve wages for workers in the U.S.

Question 9

As a result of NAFTA,real wages have grown rapidly for Mexican workers.

Question 10

Highly developed,sophisticated patterns of labor relations,such as those in Germany,have spread rapidly and are now commonplace in Russia and other former Soviet Bloc Countries.

Question 11

In Germany,codetermination committees provides works councils with rights to information and consultation on subjects such as manpower planning,change in work processes,working environment,and job content.

Question 12

There is no such thing as a "right-to-work law" in Canada.

Question 13

The majority of Mexican collective bargaining agreements contain a protection clause that protects employers from having to deal with a more demanding union.

Question 14

Transnational collective bargaining will be commonplace in the near future because international labor organizations are so well organized and active in coordinating with one another.

Question 15

Pressure on a MNC by a local union strike may be reduced because MNC operations in other countries continue to generate products and profits.

Question 16

Employees of all private firms in Japan are guaranteed lifetime employment.

Question 17

Hourly compensation costs for manufacturing production workers in Belgium,Germany,Denmark,Norway,and Switzerland were lower than those in the United States.

Question 18

Given the high costs involved,evidence indicates that it is relatively rare for MNCs to shift production to other countries in order to intimidate local unions.

Question 19

In Great Britain,Labor agreements are negotiated and administered at the plant level and they are not enforceable by law

Question 20

The majority of all workers in the United States cannot be terminated from their employment without any justification.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC)is false?

A) The NAALC has been judged to be very successful due to the increased cooperation it has fostered between NAFTA member nations in dealing with labor relations problems.
B) Freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.
C) Right to bargain collectively
D) Labor protection for children and young persons.
E) Minimum employment standards,such as minimum wages and overtime pay.

Question 22

Which one of the following concepts does NOT exist in Western European labor relations systems?

A) Bargaining with unions in addition to work councils.
B) Exclusive representation of a bargaining unit.
C) Bargaining between representatives of employer associations and representatives of a confederation of unions.
D) Benefits obtained more quickly through the political arena.
E) A great commitment to and high expenditures on training.

Question 23

Compensation costs tend to be the highest in Western European countries.Which of the following groups of countries have relatively low compensation costs?

A) Japan & Australia.
B) Switzerland & Sweden.
C) United States & Canada.
D) Korea & Taiwan.
E) France & Denmark.

Question 24

Canada's labor relations system is NOT affected by:

A) Harsh winters,climate resulting in pronounced cyclical fluctuations in its economy.
B) Foreign influences,especially from the United States.
C) Labor relations laws within provinces.
D) Two major linguistic and cultural groups.
E) A close connection between trade unions and political parties

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a criticism that organized labor in the United States levels at U.S.MNCs?

A) They export U.S.technology to exploit low-cost foreign labor,depriving U.S.workers of the benefits of this technology.
B) Their foreign investments deplete capital resources available for investment in the U.S.economy.
C) They substitute imports from their low-cost foreign operations for American-made goods.
D) They displace exports of American-made goods by producing cheaper goods for foreign markets using low-cost foreign labor.
E) Prohibition of the use of strikes.

Question 26

MNCs have an internal source of products and profits from facilities in several countries that can be used as leverage to bargain down wages,benefits,and other employment conditions.This practice is known as ________________ the union.

A) double-bargaining
B) shafting
C) whipsawing
D) torching
E) interest-playing

Question 27

Which of the following is false about labor relations in Great Britain?

A) Shop stewards are volunteers that serve without pay.
B) Collective bargaining is voluntary and unenforceable by law.
C) Unions have great power and refuse to work with any employer they find to be in bad standing.
D) Labor disputes are confined to specific locations and secondary activities (e.g. ,boycotts)are prohibited.
E) Membership in private sector unions is greater than the public sector.

Question 28

Organized labor in the U.S.has benefited from the effects of U.S.MNCs on employment and labor relations.

Question 29

The U.S.enjoys the highest degree of employee protection against termination without cause in the world.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT true about the practices of Japanese MNCs in their operations in the United States?

A) It is much easier for labor to organize the operation of a Japanese MNC than it is a U.S.-based firm.
B) Japanese companies do not adopt the lifetime employment concept..
C) Use layoffs to adjust to a shortfall in demand for workers.
D) Even though Japanese MNCs do transfer Japanese practices to U.S.facilities,the truth is that employment practices still tend to be similar to those of U.S.-based firms.
E) Language and cultural barriers can present a big problem for Japanese managers of U.S.operations.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits that has been realized from the expansion of free trade and globalization?

A) There has been a reduction in poverty in developing nations due to globalization.
B) Workers in developed economies,such as the U.S. ,have benefited from increased employment in the high-paying manufacturing industries.
C) Consumers have gained because of lower prices.
D) National economies have gained because of increased economic efficiency.
E) Workers in developing nations have gained from increased wages and employment.

Question 32

Which of the following is a false statement about labor relations in Mexico?

A) Many collective bargaining agreements in Mexico contain an exclusion clause that requires workers to be union members before they can be hired.
B) The Mexican constitution gives workers the right to form independent unions.
C) Under the Mexican constitution,workers are entitled to participate in the profits of the enterprise.
D) If a strike is ruled legal in Mexico,managers have the right to keep working and hire replacement workers.
E) Many collective bargaining agreements in Mexico contain a protection clause that protects management from having to recognize and deal with a more demanding union.

Question 33

Countries in Central and South America generally characterized as having comparatively advanced collective bargaining arrangements are:

A) Mexico and Argentina.
B) Chile and Brazil.
C) Ecuador and Nicaragua.
D) Costa Rica and Ecuador.
E) Brazil and Nicaragua.

Question 34

Which method have unions been the most successful in implementing in their dealings with MNCs?

A) Boycotts in multiple foreign markets
B) Transnational bargaining
C) Threat of widespread strikes in multiple nations
D) Adoption of international codes of conduct to regulate MNCs' behavior.
E) Unilateral collective bargaining.

Question 35

Unions,as well as some governments,have asserted that collective bargaining on a national basis has considerable limitations in facing MNCs.

Question 36

Operating in different countries creates opportunities for Multinational Corporations (MNCs )to bypass protective tariffs by making parts in one country and assembling the final product in another.

Question 37

With the exception of France,union density in Western Europe is significantly greater than in the United States.

Question 38

Which of the following statements about NAFTA is NOT true?

A) There has been expansion in trade and foreign investment.
B) There has been a contraction in manufacturing employment in the United States.
C) Economic stagnation in Mexico
D) In Mexico,productivity rates have declined.
E) Mexico wages remain low relative to U.S.manufacturing wages.

Question 39

All of the following are present obstacles to transnational bargaining with MNCs except:

A) Organized and active MNC resistance.
B) Cultural differences (e.g. ,between free trade unions and socialist-linked unions).
C) Differences in international labor relations law systems.
D) A lack of coordination of activities between organized labor in different countries.
E) Different national priorities among different nations as it relates to labor organization.

Question 40

Among those countries listed below,which has a lower percentage of the work force in unions than in the United States?

A) Germany
B) France
C) Switzerland
D) Australia
E) United Kingdom

Question 41

Three unique characteristics of Japan's industrial relations system are:

A) Apropriate bargaining units,exclusive bargaining agent,industry unions.
B) Exclusive bargaining agent,lifetime employment,industry unions.
C) Enterprise unions,lifetime employment,seniority-based wage system.
D) Lifetime employment,wage system,exclusive bargaining units.
E) Labor-management conflict,lifetime employment,enterprise unions.

Question 42

The agreements between MNCs and international trade union organizations which commit the companies to observing standards and principles throughout their worldwide operations (codes of conduct)and have increased in the past few years are called:

A) ​International Framework Agreements (IFA).
B) ​International Labor Organization (ILO).
C) ​Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
D) ​National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)procedures.
E) ​Fair Work Act.

Question 43

Which of the following is false about labor relations in China?

A) Today there is little flexibility for employers when it comes to staffing as all workers have a right to appeal any termination.
B) Traditionally,the relationship has been between workers and the government,not workers and individual enterprises.
C) Rather than serving workers,trade unions were used in the past to keep an eye on and control workers.
D) At one time,workers were assigned to state-owned enterprises and guaranteed lifetime employment.
E) Although unions have been given the right to engage in collective bargaining,Chinese workers have little faith in the unions and see them only as social welfare agents.

Question 44

Which of the following activities can frequently be found in the labor relations of Germany? Single system of industrial relations.

A) Low levels of unionization,especially in the engineering industries.
B) Union organization on a localized level only.
C) Arbitration at the individual plant level on wages.
D) Collective bargaining over wages and conditions of employment (job classification,working time,and working conditions)occurs formally outside the plant.
E) ​

Question 45

The policy followed by some MNCs where workers in one country are informed that they cannot have the improved employment conditions they seek because they are less productive than employees in another country is called:

A) ​Globalization.
B) Unionization.
C) ​Divide and rule.
D) ​Whipsawing.
E) ​Wage system.

Question 46

The agency that has become an effective voice for trade unions in the political arena and has the potential to become the spokesperson for European trade unions in collective bargaining is called the:

A) ​European Works Council.
B) ​European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
C) ​European Union.
D) ​Unions of Europe.
E) ​International Framework Agreements (IFA).

Question 47

Which method have unions been the most successful in implementing in their dealings with MNCs?

A) ​Boycotts in multiple foreign markets.
B) ​Transnational bargaining.
C) ​Threat of widespread strikes in multiple nations.
D) ​Adoption of international codes of conduct to regulate MNCs' behavior.
E) ​Union organization on a local level only.

Question 48

The agreements between MNCs and international trade union organizations which commit the companies to observing standards and principles throughout their worldwide operations (codes of conduct)and have increased in the past few years are called:

A) ​International Framework Agreements IFA).
B) ​International Labor Organization (ILO).
C) ​Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
D) ​National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)procedures.
E) ​Global Union Federation.

Question 49

The legislation passed in Australia in 2009,which has the power to vary awards,make minimum wage orders,approve agreements,and help employees and employers resolve disputes at the workplace is called the:

A) Fair Work Act.
B) Workplace Relations Amendment.
C) Forward with Fairness Act (FWFA)..
D) Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.
E) Workplace Relations Act

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT true about MNCs?

A) Worldwide employment by U.S.MNCs is much larger than that of foreign-owned MNCs.
B) The growing interdependency among nations and the activities of MNCs have become important facets of economic life.
C) Of the 30 largest MNCs in the world,13 have their home offices located in the United States.
D) The annual sales revenue of large MNCs is greater than the entire economies of many nations in which they do business.
E) MNCs have relatively little economic influence in most of the countries in which they operate.